Disney’s diversification of its animation portfolio continues, as we’ve already seen the likes of Moana introduce us to elements of Polynesian culture and Pixar’s Coco which gave us a look at Mexico’s Día de Los Muertos festival. And now the House of Mouse’s next animated film will be set in Brazil, taking inspiration from the South American country’s festive culture.
Titled Encanto, the upcoming production will tell the story of a young Brazilian girl whose family possesses magical powers which she has not inherited. We don’t know too much else about the story, although DisInsider has now reported that Zootopia’s Byron Howard and Jared Bush will be helming this film for Disney. Zootopia was a massive hit for Disney and went on to be only the second original animated film (after Frozen) to top a billion dollars at the global box office. Disney will certainly be hoping for more of that magic again.
Bush will reportedly co-write the script with Charise Castro Smith (The Haunting of Hill House) with Lin-Manuel Miranda (Hamilton, Moana) to write the music, so expect an interesting movie to say the least. With great talent behind the scenes though, it could be yet another big movie for Disney who appears to have no shortage of hits.
That being said, while Disney is branching out into different cultures, but the studio has also been accused of not always doing these cultures justice. I haven’t minded too much and I’ve preferred the focus to be on great storytelling and entertainment. Hopefully, they can find a way of delivering on both that entertainment value while doing not dropping the ball when it comes to realizing Brazilian culture onscreen.
It’s been speculated that Encanto may take the 24 November 2021 release date that Disney had previously pegged out for itself.
Last Updated: June 19, 2020
